Aims: This study sought to assess the prognostic impact of coronary chronic total occlusions (CTO) in patients presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias on admission.
Methods and results: A large retrospective registry was used, including all consecutive patients presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias on admission and undergoing coronary angiography from 2002 to 2016. Patients with a CTO were compared with all other patients (non-CTO) for prognostic outcomes. Statistics comprised Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Within a total of 1,461 consecutive patients included with ventricular tachyarrhythmias on admission, a CTO was present in 20%. At midterm follow-up of 18 months, the primary endpoint all-cause mortality had occurred in 40% of CTO patients compared to 27% of non-CTO patients (HR 1.563, 95% CI: 1.263-1.934; p=0.001). The rates of secondary endpoints were higher for in-hospital all-cause mortality at index (29% versus 20%, log-rank p=0.027) and the composite endpoint of cardiac death at 24 hours, recurrent ventricular tachyarrhythmias and appropriate ICD therapies at midterm follow-up (28% versus 20%, log-rank p=0.005). Mortality rates were highest in CTO patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), acute myocardial infarction and in patients surviving index hospitalisation.
Conclusions: In patients presenting with ventricular tachyarrhythmias on admission, the presence of a coronary CTO is independently associated with an increase of midterm all-cause mortality, in-hospital all-cause mortality and the composite endpoint of early cardiac death, recurrent ventricular tachyarrhythmias and appropriate ICD therapies.